Roberto Orci, the Hollywood screenwriter best known for writing the first two Star Trek reboot movies, has been promoted to the director's chair for Star Trek 3. J.J Abrams helmed the first two instalments of the rebooted sci-fi franchise but is currently preoccupied with the small matter of Star Wars: Episode VII.

Roberto Orci Will Direct 'Star Trek 3'

Orci's name has been doing the rounds for several weeks now, and the Hollywood Reporter confirm he now has an offer from Paramount and Skydance.

The man is no stranger to the franchise having written the first two movies with partners Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof. He and Kurtzman have also worked on the Transformers movies, Cowboys & Aliens and the Amazing Spider-Man 2 - blockbuster movies, but by no means critical successes.

On the smaller screen, Orci is one of the creators of Fringe and the critically acclaimed Sleepy Hollow.

It's rare that a screenwriter is promoted to director, and there's few examples to prove that it actually works. Cinematographer Wally Pfister made his directorial debut with Transcendence earlier this year - a critical and commercial failure.

Star Trek Into Darkness starred Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said: "Abrams boldly goes into Star Trek Into Darkness, and crushes it again. It's more fun and more intense, without giving less to the characters."

Star Trek 3 is likely to go for a 2016 release, which, at the moment, looks reasonably sparse. We're expecting the Warcraft movie, Angry Birds, The Mummy reboot, Independence Day 2, Finding Dory and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. 2015 is a different story, with some of the biggest movies of recent times set for release. They include: Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, Star Wars: Episode VII, Fifty Shades of Grey, Ant-Man, Terminator Genesis, Pan, American Sniper and a new James Bond movie.